Welcome to My Gym

When I first moved to London, I was a member of a gym paying a big fee each month. The gym was so packed each evening that I half my time in the gym was spent queuing and waiting for equipment to become available. This meant I could not plan my workout and I could not work out at a high intensity which kind of defeated the whole point of HIIT. It was so frustrating. So I decided to start working out from home and see how I got on. 

I was living in quite a small flat at the time but you don't need much room to workout. I used to workout every evening right beside my bed. I think you need to be very strong willed to workout on your own. You need to motivate yourself unlike a gym where there are other people working out alongside you. 

For about 6 months I used bodyweight exercises and filled a bag full of books for weight to act as a sandbag. I think it's important to get form right first before moving to heavier weights. If you are not doing the exercises properly you won't see the results.

I moved to a bigger house with a garage, so I had a lot of extra space for equipment. Around this time my results had started to plateau also, so I decided to invest in equipment and started doing my research on what I could get without spending a fortune.

My Gym 

Skipping Rope 

I got this rope for £3 on ebay. It's a must in the gym. It is a great cardio when weight training to get your heart rate up in between exercises. Learn all different skipping techniques, to make it more difficult and to engage different muscles.There are so many variations and the great thing about it, they never get easy. 

Sandbag

I got this on Amazon for about £60. Usually sandbags can be very expensive, so this was a good deal. I just bought the shell of the sandbag, I did not buy the sand to go inside as this is very expensive. Instead I went down to Sainsburys and bought 10 packets of their home brand rice in 1kg packets. The rice cost 20p each. This is handier as some exercises require heavier weights and some exercises require lighter weights. So its so easy just to throw out some rice in between exercises and then put it back in. Takes two seconds. 

This is a great alternative for helping you get in a full-body workout. Lifting a sandbag is an old school way to build strength and intense endurance. The sandbag is awkward to lift (the rice/sand is hard to balance) requiring that you fight hard to perform exercises with it.

Dumbbells

Last year I bought adjustable dumbbells on ebay for £30. The only annoying thing about adjustable weights is that you can't change the weights for different exercises easily or quickly. I also found they became quite loose and constantly had to be tightened. I would not advise round shaped dumbbells as they slip quite easily.  

One of my main aims is to get toned arms this summer so I decided to invest in more expensive dumbbells. I bought these hexagon shaped dumbbells. These are neat and because of their shape you can do pushups on them without them slipping from under you. I bought various different size weights (still waiting on more to arrive). I am trying to lift heavier weights at the moment as less reps with heavier weights is more effective than more reps with lighter weighs.

Pull Up Bar

I bought this on ebay for £18. The great thing about this pull up bar is that it does not need to be screwed onto the top of your door, it uses leverage to hold against the doorway so there are no screws and no damage to door. It installs in seconds. A pull up bar is ideal for pull-ups, push- ups, chin ups, dips, crunches and more. Pull-ups can be really difficult to do as they require a great deal of upper strength. I am going to be using this a lot more this month as I am focusing on arms, shoulders and back. Start with a chair underneath you, the easier this gets move the chair forward to make it more difficult. The aim is eventually to move the chair away altogether. Even if you can do one rep without the chair this is amazing progress.

Equaliser

 

The equaliser is great for versatility and can take your workout to the next level. They come as a set of two and look similar to a hurdle, though unlike a hurdle these do not fall over. You can use them together or individually. You can use the bars to perform ladder agility drills, tricep dips, modified pull- ups, weighted burpees, elevated push ups and single legged squats.

This is the most expensive item I have. I got it as a birthday present and they usually cost about £120. It is a neat piece of equipment and can be stored away. I must admit I don't get as much use out of this than I do my other equipment.
 

GymBoss Interval timer

This cost me £15. I couldn't live without this. This was my first thing I bought when I started working out. I also have the app downloaded on my iPhone which is also good. This is essential to any HIIT workout as it makes the workout easier to plan and execute with more accuracy and consistency. This helps increase cardio endurance, muscle endurance and fat loss.

Weight Lifting Gloves

I got these on ebay for £6. When you start lifting a lot of weights you will start seeing blisters on your hands. Also when you are working out hard and at a high intensity you hands will become very sweaty and it becomes hard to grip the dumbbells.

Gym Mat

I got this York Gym Mat £7 on ebay. This is great support for your back when doing floor exercises.

Yoga Mat

Another aim I have this month is to incorporate some yoga moves into my workouts. I am really inflexible and yoga is an exercise that promotes muscle toning, endurance and flexibility.
I got a yoga mat in TK Maxx for £12.99 reduced from £45.

Future Buys

Bench Press

Bench presses help you build both strength and muscle mass. Bench press allows you to lift a large amount of weight at one time and to develop all-around upper-body strength in one exercise. A decline bench can be great for advanced ab exercises as well.

Motivation:

Music:

Music can be a tremendous, almost magical motivator. When people are motivated, they work out longer and harder. The best thing to do is set up a high tempo playlist on your ipod so that you are not distracted by having to look for new songs.

Mirror:

 Mirrors are essential to working out. Treat the mirror as your friend. It is there to help you monitor your form and progress. Seeing the real results of your hard work in the mirror can be powerfully motivating. Each time you catch a glimpse of developing muscle tone, it motivates you to keep going and get better results. With weight training, injuries often happen because of poor form while lifting. Use the gym mirror to help you adjust your form and stay injury free.  

Posters:

Posters can also be great for motivation. On our gym wall you will find the above posters. I find Jessica Ennis really inspiring, she is the ultimate athlete and her abs were voted the most desirable in Britain. The inspiring thing about her is that she wasn't born with the perfect washboard stomach, she works hard and eats clean. So it's good motivation to know that if you put in the hard work you will see the results and it is possible for ANYONE to achieve those results.

 

I hope this proves that you don't need to spend a fortune on gym memberships and instead invest your money on some basic equipment that won't cost you an arm and a leg. I didn't buy all this equipment at once, I always buy it in stages. Before you decide what equipment to get, ask yourself what results you want to achieve and base your decision on that.